Beverly Pioneering Scientist To Host Endicott Climate Change Forum

BEVERLY, MA — The public is invited to hear from a Beverly native and pioneering scientist when Dr. Rita Colwell hosts a special forum on climate change at Endicott College this month.

Colwell was the first woman to lead the National Science Foundation and is the author of "A Lab of One's Own: One Woman's Personal Journey Through Sexism in Science."

She will present a talk titled "Oceans, Climate, and Pandemics: Lessons From Cholera and Related Vibrios" on Sept. 20 at 3 p.m. in Cleary Lecture Hall. The event is free and open to the public with registration preferred here.

She will talk about climate change and her experience as a woman scientist who made groundbreaking discoveries in microbiology and its relationship to the environment and public health.

A Q&A session will follow.

Colwell's memoir — spanning her childhood in Beverly and her groundbreaking career — was published by Simon & Schuster in 2020.

"Dr. Colwell is an inspiring individual, not only for members of the scientific community but for all women who want to pursue careers in STEM," said Gene Wong, Dean of Endicott College's School of Science & Technology. "Her continued work in the prevention of infectious diseases on a global scale and entrepreneurial spirit in founding a bioinformatics company in foreseeing the potential of emerging next-generation DNA sequencing technologies has set the bar for what women can accomplish in science, public health, and business.

"I'm excited for our community to hear from Dr. Colwell and learn from the personal stories that have made her the leader she is today."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)